Make organizations more fun
and higher-performing.
I spend my days inside companies, working out how a place can feel more alive without letting the numbers slip. This is where I write down what I learn.
On building organizations
Most people treat “enjoyable” and “high-performing” as a trade-off, where one is bought at the other’s expense. I don’t buy it. The teams that do their best work are usually the ones that actually like being there, and that’s something you can design for, not just hope for. I write about how.
The Good Stuff
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Write Down What Good Means
A probation decision with no written criteria was about to become a gut call. The fix was one sheet, and it changed the manager more than the hire.
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The Review Failed Months Ago
Pleasant retrospectives that change nothing are not a candor problem. They are missing one exhibit: the promise that was written down before the work began.
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If You Cannot Ask About It, It Is Decoration
Everyone can recite the values. The review form has never heard of them, and that gap, not your people, is why the words steer nothing.